Editing Fáfnir (section)

=== In Wagner ===
[[File:Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods p 022.jpg|thumb|Fáfnir guards the gold hoard in this illustration by [[Arthur Rackham]] to [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]''.]]
Fáfnir appears with the spelling "Fafner" in [[Richard Wagner]]'s epic opera cycle ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' (1848–1874), although he began life as a [[giant]] rather than a [[Dwarf (folklore)|dwarf]]. In the first opera, ''[[Das Rheingold]]'' (1869), which has some basis in [[Gylfaginning]], Fafner and his brother Fasolt try to kidnap the goddess Freia, a composite of the goddesses [[Freyja]] and [[Iðunn]], who has been promised to them by [[Odin|Wotan]], the king of the gods, in exchange for building the castle [[Valhalla]]. Fasolt is in love with her while Fafner wants her as without her golden apples the gods will lose their youth. The giants, mainly Fafner, agree to accept a massive hoard of treasure stolen from the dwarf [[Alberich]] instead. The treasure includes the magic helmet [[Tarnhelm]] and a [[magic ring]]. As they divide the treasure, the brothers argue and Fafner kills Fasolt and takes the ring for himself. Escaping to Earth, he uses the Tarnhelm to transform himself into a [[European dragon|dragon]] and guards the treasure in a cave for many years before being ultimately killed by Wotan's mortal grandson [[Sigurd|Siegfried]] as depicted in the [[Siegfried (opera)|opera of the same name]]. However, while Fasolt is a [[Romanticism|romantic]] [[revolutionary]], Fafner is a more violent and jealous figure, plotting to overthrow the gods. In many productions, he is shown to return to his original giant form while delivering his death-speech to Siegfried.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}